State finances, economy dominated local news in 2017

Friday

Dec 29, 2017 at 5:26 PMDec 29, 2017 at 5:26 PM

Staff report

The end of the state budget standoff in July helped thaw the icy feelings of economic gloom that enveloped Springfield for the previous two years. Of course, the long-awaited budget deal hasn't immediately solved the city's financial challenges. Springfield's ongoing efforts to dig itself out of the abyss — along with crime, the opioid crisis and an unexpected death — dominated local headlines throughout the year.

Here are our selections for the most significant local news stories of 2017:

1. State budget approved, local economy begins recovery

Sangamon County employers were in a little better mood by the fall 2017.

An end to a two-year state budget stalemate was thought to be a key factor behind the improvement in the Economic Outlook Survey released in November by University of Illinois Springfield and The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce. The survey of more than 230 employers found 55 percent expected improve sales in the coming year compared with 46 percent in the fall of 2016, while 32 percent expected to add workers compared with 27 percent a year earlier. Despite the overall improvement, nearly 60 percent said state finances would remain a top concern in the coming year.

Springfield unemployment remained among the lowest in the state and home sales were expected to finish ahead of 2016. But a series of regional planning reports raised long-term concerns about slow population, income and job growth. An October study commissioned by Sangamon County called for a major overhaul of local economic-development efforts through creation of a new economic development corporation.

National retail cutbacks that began in December 2016 with the shut down of Kmart on Wabash Avenue carried into 2017 with the loss of major names such as Gander Mountain, OfficeMax, Staples, HHGregg, Smashburger, The Limited, Family Christian Store and the Dress Barn. Major renovation of the former Kmart space and the adjoining Sherwood Plaza began within weeks of the big-box shutdown with a series of new tenants opened in 2017, including Binny's Beverage Depot and OrangeTheory Fitness. Outback Steakhouse and Burlington Coat Factory expected to open in 2018.

2. Violence in Springfield

Springfield Police investigated 15 homicides in 2017, including three gun-related deaths that happened within six days of each other in May.

The deadly week toward the end of May was linked to two rival groups or gangs in the city. The violence prompted Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow to issue a warning to parents.

“Know who their friends, family and associates are and even who they are dating because if they are associated with either of these two gangs, they are at high risk to be victimized," Winslow said. “This does not include just young men, but ladies as well.”

The three May deaths included Andre Booker III, 19, of Springfield, who was gunned down in Comer Cox Park on May 31. Four men were arrested in connection with the shooting, which police said was in retaliation for an earlier homicide. Booker was not a suspect in the earlier shootings, police said.

Of the 15 homicides investigated by Springfield police, one incident involved a Springfield police officer who prosecutors say fired in self-defense when he was attacked on Jan. 23. About four months later, detectives determined that a man who had been fatally stabbed on May 13 had attempted to rob an individual at gunpoint.

The number of homicides in Springfield varies widely from year to year. There were six homicides in 2016, 11 in 2015 and four in 2014 and 2013. In 2012, the city saw 10 homicides.

3. SPD's body cameras put to the test

The Springfield Police Department was one the early adopters of putting body cameras on officers, and two videos from those cameras captured in 2017 garnered much attention.

In February, the Sangamon County state’s attorney’s office released body camera footage of a Springfield police officer who shot and killed an attacker in January.

The video showed 27-year-old Daniel Rogers attack Officer John Shea as he tried to handcuff him. Shea then fired his gun and killed Rogers, who family members said suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. No charges were filed against Shea, who suffered a broken nose and concussion as a result of the attack.

Police also released video in March showing a now former Springfield police officer, Samuel Rosario, fighting and taunting a man at a home he responded to for a domestic disturbance. Rosario was fired and charged with battery and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case is pending.

4. Opioid crisis

The nation’s crisis of opioid overuse and abuse continued its rampage in the Springfield area in 2017, while public-health and human-service leaders locally and statewide launched initiatives to stem the death toll and help addicts rebuild their lives.

In Sangamon County, deaths in 2017 that were linked to overdoses of opioid street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl and prescription painkillers such as hydrocodone were expected to exceed 2015’s total of 41 — the most recent high point.

Opioid-related deaths continue to rise in Illinois. The most recent statewide statistics listed 1,946 deaths in 2016, an increase of more than three-quarters since 2013.

The Sangamon County Department of Public Health, which took action to make the overdose-blocking drug Narcan more available to law-enforcement officers, formed an opioid task force to study and enact more long-term strategies.

5. Springfield school bomb threats

It seemed as if the Springfield School District couldn’t go more than a few weeks in 2017 without having someone call in a bomb threat.

Through the first semester of the 2017-18 school year, District 186 received nine bomb threats, causing the district to evacuate buildings and disrupt the school day.

Superintendent Jennifer Gill described the number of bomb threats as “unprecedented.”

Springfield police have arrested two students, ages 14 and 13, who detectives believe are responsible for five of the nine incidents.

Crime Stoppers of Sangamon and Menard Counties announced in December it would pay a minimum of $500 for information that leads to an arrest. To also combat the problem, District 186 hired a retired police dog trainer and his dog to regularly search the buildings for bombs, drugs and guns.

6. Research misconduct at SIU?

Officials at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine are continuing to investigate “research misconduct” involving a respected herpes vaccine developer at SIU who died in 2017.

The activities of the late William Halford, who died June 22 at age 48 from nasal cancer, continue to attract scrutiny from the news media and U.S. scientific community.

However, the Springfield-based company that Halford helped to form, Rational Vaccines, says through its public relations representative that the company hopes to conduct more clinical trials of Halford’s vaccines to both treat and prevent herpes overseas and in the United States.

Controversy surrounding Rational Vaccines’ decision to conduct a small-scale clinical trial in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2016 grew when it was disclosed that the trial took place without the supervision of an “institutional review board” to look out for the safety of participants.

The St. Kitts government now is looking into whether any of the country’s laws were broken.

Reports that Halford conducted unethical and potentially illegal human testing of his experimental genital herpes vaccine on patients in the United States as far back as 2013 resulted in SIU submitting a report in 2017 to federal officials about the alleged conduct. It’s unclear how federal officials may respond.

7. Judge John Schmidt dead at age 52

Springfield's legal community and the rest of the city was shocked Dec. 19 when Schmidt, a justice of the 4th District Appellate Court, died of natural cardiovascular-related causes at the age of 52.

He had just started his stint on the appellate court on Dec. 7 after serving as a circuit judge since 2010. He had also been Sangamon County state’s attorney.

At his funeral on Thursday, he was remembered as a great jurist who always put other people first, loved his family and left a lasting mark on the community.

U.S. Attorney John Childress, who was among speakers at Schmidt’s funeral, said if Schmidt “ever sensed that you needed something, it was done. Regardless of whether it was his time, his energy, or his material resources, the answer was always the same: ‘Here, take it.’”

8. UIS professors go on strike

The fate of the spring semester's conclusion at the University of Illinois Springfield was thrown into limbo in early May when professors went on strike after they were unable to come to an agreement on how the university handles reappointment, tenure and promotion of faculty. The 168-member union had been working since October 2015 on its first contract with UIS.

The strike began May 2, less than a week before final exams were to start. The work stoppage unnerved many students, who worried how final grades for the spring semester would be handled if the strike endured beyond the scheduled last day of school.

After three days of long bargaining sessions, both sides announced an agreement on May 7, a day before finals were scheduled to begin.

9. Sangamon Auditorium accident

A freak accident that killed a patron at the University of Illinois Springfield's Sangamon Auditorium in March resulted in an out-of-court settlement with the university and an ongoing personal-injury lawsuit.

The death of John Kremitzki, 51, of rural Petersburg, who was fatally injured when he fell through a hole at the front of the auditorium stage during a Brit Floyd concert, triggered a safety-related audit by UIS and a plan to better train the auditorium’s staff.

The incident, which also resulted in injuries to Springfield resident Gregory Hoffman — who unsuccessfully tried to rescue Kremitzki — prompted UIS officials to cover the opening with wood and remove a black curtain covering the opening. UIS officials say the venue is safe and any hazard has been eliminated.

UIS agreed to pay damage settlements of $200,000 to Kremitzki’s family and $100,000 to Hoffman, who is in his late 50s.

The Kremitzki family and Hoffman both filed personal-injury lawsuits in Sangamon County Circuit Court, each seeking more than $50,000 in damages against CMP Entertainment (USA) Inc. of New York, the business agent for Brit Floyd.

10. Illinois State Fair parade route changes

Fans of the Illinois State Fair had to make some adjustments this past year when the route of the Twilight Parade changed.

For years, the parade started at North Grand and headed north along Ninth Street and Peoria Road toward the fairgrounds. In 2017, it started at Lincoln Park and headed east along Sangamon Avenue to the Main Gate of the fairgrounds.

Organizers said the new route resulted in fewer blocked roads and enabled participants to stage in Lincoln Park, which his plenty of shade trees and restroom facilities.

Parade watchers had mixed reactions.

For many people living along the old parade route, the change was not appreciated. They were used to watching the parade from their front porch and hosting parade parties.

Some of the people who participated in parade, however, enjoyed the park. Some of the parents let their kids play on the playground equipment and the shade trees were greatly appreciated.

Fair officials said that if the public didn’t like the switch, they could go back to the old route in the future. As of this past week, fair officials said a determination on the 2018 Twilight Parade route had not been made.

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